Scary Stories
by Ash-Castle
Summary: While camping in the forest, the Trio decided to tell scary stories. DH compliant.


"I'm bored." Ron told his friends. His arm was still in a sling from the splinching and he was being forced to rest by Hermione.

"We know Ron." Hermione said through gritted teeth. "I'm sorry we didn't think to bring some board games for you." It was her turn to wear the locket, and her temper was running high.

Grabbing onto the idea of a game, and in an attempt to keep them from arguing anymore, Harry said "Why don't we play a game?" He thought they would be happy, but both Ron and Hermione looked at him like he was crazy.

"What are we going to play Harry? I Spy? Maybe hide and seek or tag?" Hermione asked sarcastically. Deciding he had enough, Harry stood and walked around the fire. He stopped and crouched in front of Hermione.

"Take it off." He told her, holding his hand out. Scowling she did as he said. Once it was in his hand, Harry walked in the tent and put it on the table. They would be okay if they didn't wear it for a few hours. Upon walking back outside, he could see that Hermione's face had cleared up.

"I'm sorry Harry. I didn't mean to snap at you." She smiled at him apologetically.

"It's alright. That thing could make anyone wonky." They fell into a comfortable silence, until Ron's loud sigh broke it.

"I'm so bored! I'd even listen to you _read_ Mione."

"I could do that." She told them, holding up her _Tales of Beadle the Bard_ book. "But I'm still working on some of the translations. Besides, you probably know these stories better Ron. Maybe you could tell us?" Hermione asked, her excitement growing. She was hoping to compare her original copy with what had been handed down.

"I'm really no good at telling stories." Hermione's smile dropped.

"What if we tell scary stories, like people do when they go camping?"

"I don't know." Hermione said, looking at the forest around them.

"Are you scared?" Ron asked the challenge in his tone evident.

"No! Of course not! I'll even go first." She told them, putting her book aside.

In a voice she thought was spooky, Hermione started her story:

"This story starts off with a group of kids our age. They were at a friend's house close to the cemetery. One boy started telling his friends how people would go visit their loved ones at night, but would never come back.

'_That's not true!'_ One girl said.

'_It is!' _the boy insisted. _'Whenever someone accidently stands on the grave, their loved ones know and are desperate to be together again. So they reach out of the soil and grab their loved ones, dragging them down so they will be together forever.'_

'_That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I don't believe you. In fact tomorrow I will go stand on my Grandfather's grave and prove you wrong.'_ The girl told them proudly.

'_If you're so sure, why don't you go tonight?'_ The boy asked. The girl noticed it was close to midnight.

'_It's getting rather late, why don't I just go tomorrow?'_

'_You're a chicken!'_ The boy shouted triumphantly. Soon the others joined in. Sick of their taunting, the girl finally agreed. _'Before you go, take this knife and place it in the grave so we know you went.' _The boy said. She took the knife, put on her cloak, and left.

When the girl reached the cemetery, she hesitated a moment before going in. It was really dark, and with no one else around, there would be no one to help her if she got in trouble. _'Just do it.'_ She told herself, and climbed over the gate.

After wandering the graveyard for a time, she finally found her Grandfather's head stone. She paid her respects then stood on his grave. Nothing happened. _'I knew it.'_ She thought, and before she left, plunged the knife into the ground as deep as it would go.

She took two steps before she realized she was stuck on something. Her fear started to rise. Hoping it was just a rock, she pulled on her cloak. It didn't move. She was becoming more scared by the minute. She started crying. _'Help me! Someone please! Please help me!' _she cried out, hoping someone was close enough to hear her. She fell to the ground, her legs giving out in her terror. When she felt herself being slowly pulled backwards she screamed in terror.

The next morning the kids who had dared her went to look for the knife. After a few minutes of searching, they found the knife. It was buried deep in the grave, caught in the girl's cloak. The girl herself was cold as ice, a look of terror frozen on her face. She had died of fright. They say to this day, if you're at the graveyard around midnight, you can hear her cries for help. Before dawn rises the last sound you will hear is her animalistic screams of terror." Hermione finished. Satisfied her story had been sufficiently scary. She looked at her friends, waiting to see their reactions.

"Wow Mione, that was, uh." Harry scratched the back of his neck looking for a word that wouldn't insult her.

"Not scary at all." Ron said.

"Oh really? Let's see you do better." She crossed her arms, waiting.

"I already told you I can't tell stories."

"Fine Ron. What about you Harry?" Hermione asked, one eyebrow raised. Silently daring him to do better.

"Mine probably won't be as good as yours," He tried to placate her. "But I'll give it a go." Harry thought for a moment, then started:

"One summer, just after graduation, three friends decided to take a week long camping trip. It was the summer before they left for their jobs, and they wanted one last week of just the three of them. They knew that once they started working they wouldn't have much time to be together. They agreed to a different camp spot each night, that way they could explore the forest they were in.

The first night, they settled down to sleep. After a few hours of sleep the girl woke up, having heard rustling outside their tent. _'What was that?'_ She hissed, waking up the other two.

'_Nothing.'_ One of the boys told her.

'_Go back to sleep.' _The other advised. Unable to sleep, she listened to the rustling outside. It seemed to be coming closer and getting louder. She was about to wake her friends when dawn broke, gently lighting the leaves on the trees above them. Abruptly the rustling stopped. She decided against telling her friends, knowing they would think she was over-thinking things.

The next 4 nights were much of the same. Each night the noises would start earlier. On the fourth night, just before dawn, she could have sworn she saw something right outside their tent. Once again, with the dawn it disappeared. On the 5the night, right before sundown, she finally confessed to her friends what had been going on every night.

'_You're being ridiculous.' _ One of them told her.

'_We haven't heard anything. Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?'_ The other asked, concerned their friend had been having such vivid nightmares.

'_It wasn't a dream!' _She told them. _'Just humor me and let's stay up tonight. Just in case. It's our last night anyways, we can sleep it off tomorrow.' _ Realizing their friend really was scared, both boys agreed to stay up with her. The sun went down, and within minutes, the noises started. _'See?'_ She whispered. _'I told you!'_

'_Those are just animals.' _They assured her, and they continued to talk about their plans and dreams watching the fire burn. The fire started getting low, so one of the boys when to get more firewood. He quickly realized they didn't have enough to last the whole night.

'_Hey guys, the wood is low, I'm going to grab some more.'_ He told them. He went in the tent and grabbed a torch, ready to head out.

'_Oh, please don't go alone!'_ The girl begged her friend. She had heard the noises coming closer, but the boys were still ignoring her fears.

'_I'll be fine. See you in a few.' _And he left. They waited 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. After an hour he still hadn't come back. The girl was struggling not to panic. Finally her other friend decided the boy had been gone long enough.

'_He probably got turned around. I'm going to go find him. You stay here.'_ He told the girl. Once again she begged him not to go. He told her he would be fine and soon return with their friend. The light from the fire was getting lower. They had put the last of the wood on before he left her.

As she was sitting, trying to convince herself her friends would come back soon, she heard a strangled yell. Before it had reached full volume, it was cut off. The forest went completely silent. She shot up off the log she had been sitting on. She began to look around, unsure which way to run. This was it. Whatever had been following them had finally caught up. She heard a twig snap to her right.

She took off, faster than a rabbit being chased by a fox. The thing behind her gave chase. She knew she just had to make it until dawn. Then in the light of day she could go back and find her friends. If anything was left of them. The thing neither sped up nor slowed down, it kept a steady pace behind her. Taunting her. Finally she saw her chance. A low branch to her right. She grabbed it and swung up, swiftly climbing the tree. All the while praying the thing below her couldn't climb.

Her ruse seemed to work. She saw a dark bulky figure run under her tree. Deciding that staying high was her best bet, she settled down on her branch as best she could. She lost track of time, but knew at least a couple hours had passed. It was closer to dawn now. Only another hour or so away. Just as she was starting to relax, thinking she had made it, the dark figure came back.

It began circling her tree. She clung to the trunk, trying to stay hidden. She couldn't be sure in the dark, but the thing seemed to be looking up. She tried desperately to slow her breathing, to keep as still and silent as possible. However, the thing seemed to know she was there, and started climbing. She climbed higher, thankful for her slighter frame that let her climb on smaller branches.

The dark thing below her had only made it up a couple branches when they broke, unable to support its weight. This whole time the thing below her was silent. She couldn't even hear it breathing. It started circling again, then moved to a tree next to hers. In a moment of horrifying clarity, she realized its plan. The tree next to her had stronger branches, it would climb up then jump over to her tree. Logically, she knew there was a good chance it wouldn't make the jump. Even less of a chance the branch she was on would hold it long enough for it to grab her.

She wasn't thinking clearly however, and when the thing was high enough, she scrambled down her own tree and began running again. This time she ran back towards where she thought their campsite was, remembering they had an axe for chopping wood, she could use it to defend herself. With that goal in mind she ran faster than before. She also ran more careless than before. In a moment of fear, she looked behind her to see how close the thing was behind her.

She tripped over a tree root, falling hard and spraining her ankle. She bit her lip to stop the cry of pain from escaping her. _Can't be much longer now_ she thought to herself. She tried to run again, but couldn't, the pain in her ankle was too much. She could hear the thing that had been chasing her for so long now. It was close. She tried to hide, curling into a ball between the roots of the tree. There, she prayed it wouldn't find her." Hermione was so focused on Harry's face as he told the story, she missed his hand signal to Ron.

"The girl closed her eyes tight and wished herself invisible. She listened with all her might, trying to find where it was. When she didn't hear anything for a few minutes she opened her eyes. Seeing nothing she smiled. Just as she thought she was safe the monster's head popped into being in front of her!" Ron grabbed Hermione from behind and yelled. She had been so focused on Harry, she didn't see him sneak behind her. Hermione let out a screech of terror and jumped, almost landing in the fire. She had her wand out, sending a jinx at Ron before she realized what had happened.

"Not funny you two!" She yelled, holding her heart. She sat back down her legs trembling from the adrenaline loss. This time she sat closer to Harry. Still laughing, Ron came to sit beside her, tentacles all over his face. When Harry and Ron finally calmed down Harry finished his story.

"The girl screamed in pure terror, her voice echoing around the forest just as the sun came out."

Getting over her scare, Hermione said "That was really good Harry! But it's getting late, you two should head to bed. I'll take the first watch."

"Are you sure Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I could take first watch if you want." Ron offered.

"That's sweet guys, but I'm okay." She smiled and they hugged her before retiring to the tent. She could see their shadows moving around through the tent walls and hear the murmur of their voices. Finally they turned out the lights and Hermione was left with the fire as her only light. She had been reading for a while when she heard the first rustle. _Just a critter_, she thought and went back to her book. A few minutes later she heard it again, it sounded closer. _It's nothing, just my imagination._ She brushed it off, but couldn't stop her heart from beating a little faster.

When the twig snapped right outside the light of her fire, she stood up. She quickly gathered her things, placed a shield on the fire to keep it contained, and practically ran into the tent. Her sudden entrance woke Harry and Ron.

"Mione?" Ron asked.

"What's wrong?" Harry finished. Hermione completed the spell she was putting on their tent before answering.

"I was thinking it over and decided we could all use a full night of sleep." She explained, glad her voice didn't waver.

"Uh huh, sure. You were scared by yourself. Admit it." Ron said sitting up and smiling. Harry was on his elbows on the top bunk looking down at her. The smile on his face matched Ron's.

"It has nothing to do with that." Hermione said, with as much dignity as she could muster. They were on a mission to hunt down Horcruxes for Merlin's sake! A silly story shouldn't scare her. "Hop off the bed you two." Both men did as she asked without hesitating. "_Engorgio"_ She said, pointing her wand at the bottom bunk. When it was big enough to fit all three of them and then some she stopped. "Climb in." She told them.

While they were getting comfortable, she changed into her pajamas.

"What about the watch?" Harry asked her. She stepped out from behind the screen they had for changing before responding.

"I've locked us in. Nothing can get in, and we can't get out until I take it down." She thought for a second before continuing. "I suppose someone really strong could, but nothing else." She climbed in between them. There was plenty of room to spread out, but they all cuddled together in the middle. Hermione grabbed their hands, letting their warmth sooth and lull her into sleep. Before she drifted off she told them "I wasn't scared."

Hermione's deep breathing signaled to the men on either side of her that she had finally fallen asleep. "Harry?" Ron whispered across her.

"Yeah mate?"

"Do you think she'll guess it was us?" Ron asked. He didn't want to see what Hermione would do if she found out they had caused the noises that scared her.

"No, not if we don't mention it." Harry replied, turning his head to look at the witch sleeping between them and smiled. She still hadn't let go of their hands. They relaxed and started to fall asleep when suddenly they heard rustling outside.

"What was that?"

**A/N**

**I don't own anything you recognize, the characters, or the first story. If the second story is recognizable, that was a coincidence. **


End file.
